Should I start Josh Downs or Ted Hurst III in Week 7?

Updated Oct 21, 5:01 PM ET. Week 8 answers post Tuesday.

Start Josh Downs: 83 percent of the snaps and 16 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Ted Hurst III's 45 percent of the snaps and 10 percent of the targets. No market projection is posted on either of them this week, so this is a usage call, and a lower confidence one than a call made on a projection. What follows is what each of them has done.

Should I drop Ted Hurst III for Josh Downs?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Josh Downs projects 117 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 10 games), Ted Hurst III 28 (2.8 a game over 10 games).

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Your next move

More fantasy football tools and rankings, all built from the same board.

Neither man carries a season projection right now, so this is their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, side by side.

Josh Downs

WR70 · IND · bye 13

2026 vs anytime td line 0-6

Market-based projection: 12.6 pts a game Wk 6 price
Overall rank: 193

Ted Hurst III

WR72 · TB · bye 10

2026 vs anytime td line 1-5

Market-based projection: 3.5 pts a game Wk 6 price
Overall rank: 195

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

Sleeper ESPN Yahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 8am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

The gap

Board size311 draftable players

Draft data is not current for these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out. The call above comes from each player's usage.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Josh Downs, and the board ranks him 193rd overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Ted Hurst III, and the board ranks him 195th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Josh Downs is 1.3 PPR points a game off 1 market across 10 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market-based projection for Ted Hurst III is 1.3 PPR points a game off 1 market across 13 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Josh Downs's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 6

Through Week 6, Josh Downs has been on the field for 81 percent of IND snaps, drawn 21 percent of the targets and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 13 of the offence's 49 third down targets, had 0 of its 19 chances inside the five and seen 3 of its 25 two minute targets.

His 42 targets have averaged 10.7 air yards.

In Week 4 against WAS he caught 3 of 4 targets for 16 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against PIT he caught 3 of 6 targets for 47 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against TEN he carried 1 time for 7 yards, caught 4 of 8 targets for 40 yards and did not score.

Through Week 6, Ted Hurst III has been on the field for 59 percent of TB snaps, drawn 12 percent of the targets and had 6 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 6 of the offence's 53 third down targets, had 0 of its 7 chances inside the five and seen 8 of its 41 two minute targets.

His 22 targets have averaged 16.1 air yards.

In Week 4 against GB he caught 2 of 3 targets for 25 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against DAL he was not given the ball.

In Week 6 against PIT he caught 3 of 6 targets for 40 yards and did not score.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Josh Downs played 16 games and scored 136.4 PPR points, 8.5 a game, finishing WR44.

He caught 58 of 88 targets for 566 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 14 red zone targets.

That came to 5-6 targets a game, a 66 percent catch rate and 9.8 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 58 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Ted Hurst III is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.

Head to head

This season Josh Downs holds the bigger snap share, 81 percent against 59 percent.

This season Josh Downs holds the bigger target share, 21 percent against 12 percent.

Byes and availability

Josh Downs is off in Week 13 and Ted Hurst III in Week 10, so either can cover the other's bye.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Ted Hurst III for Josh Downs?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Josh Downs projects 117 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 10 games), Ted Hurst III 28 (2.8 a game over 10 games).
Should I drop Josh Downs for Ted Hurst III?
No. Keep Josh Downs: he projects 117 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 10 games), Ted Hurst III 28 (2.8 a game over 10 games).